Support the community this year and buy from small business – Buy from the makers in Middlemiss Laneway.
Our coworking members get up to a lot during their days and some have a couple of nifty side-hustles that can really ease you with Christmas gifting this year, plus, you know you’re helping out a mate which makes everyone feel good. Here’s a list of 5 gift ideas for the festive season and they’re all related to the community in our warehouses.
1. Gourmet Mustard by VanDeRō
Mustard might not be your first thought for a gift however, it’s perfect for the foodie that loves to get around a premium steak, or anyone who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, and entertaining friends at home. Go for a box of 6 gourmet mustards and you’ll receive a pretty golden serving spoon perfect for the grazing board on Christmas day. We recommend giving the cracked pepper mustard a whirl.
And for our community, the chirpy team are offering a 10% discount for all online orders of their entire artisanal range, plus, you can select ‘pick-up’ at the checkout and stop by their office to meet the makers and get the mustard straight from the source. Use the discount code: WorkInc2020 (valid until December 20th, 2020).
You can catch the Mustard Boys in their Bay 9 office on the ground floor, just look for the wall of vibrant mustard jars lining the space. Since the VanDeRō’s establishment, the purposeful team have partnered with OzHarvest to ensure that for every jar sold, one meal is provided to a vulnerable Australian. 1 jar sold = 1 meal given. So, when you gift VanDeRō to a mate, you’re also helping out another.
2. Decadent Donuts by Dr. Dough Donuts
We call this one the lazy person’s gift but it’s a tasty one. When you order with Dr. Dough Donuts the hardest thing you need to do is select your delivery date and time and leave the rest to them. Dr. Dough delivers across Sydney 7 days a week over the festive season, including Christmas Day. But it’s not just a Christmas goodie for the nice neighbour or friend that lives on the other side of town, it can be for a gift for a picnic, birthday, anniversary, graduation, broken heart or even, ‘sorry, I forgot to pick up the kids’ – say it with donuts!
We can never go past a Golden Gaytime flavoured donut, and neither should you. Order before 4:00 pm for next day delivery or, they even have same-day delivery options available.
Made by the hearts of Kristy and her husband Geoff Bannister who love to share happiness (in donut form).
3. Rising Heart by Aminata Conteh-Biger
Aminata’s autobiography tells the astonishing tale of determination in transforming her trauma into a power for good in the world. Growing up in Freetown, Sierra Leone with her father, Aminata had a blessed life. She was known as the girl who lived in the big yellow house on the hill but all that changed in early 1999 when Aminata was kidnapped from her father’s arms by rebel forces during the eleven-year civil war. Violence, amputation and the rape of young women and girls were all weapons deployed in the bloody conflict; it was in this environment that Aminata was held captive for months.
‘The spirit of Aminata’s story will stay with you long after you finish reading. Rising Heart has refuelled my sense of perspective and purpose. Aminata’s courage in sharing this intensely personal story is rewarded with the power of inspiring hope. Thank you, Aminata, for sharing’ – Yael Stone, actor, and activist.
After Aminata’s near death experience while giving birth to her daughter, Sarafina, in 2012 she set up the Aminata Maternal Foundation to seek improvement for women in her country of birth where the lifetime risk of dying while giving birth is 1 in 17 women. A portion of all book royalties are put into the foundation.
4. Fever-Tree Tonic Water
Planning a Christmas affair by the pool? Then you’ll need a gin with that and if you’re going for something refreshing then you have to pair it with the World’s best tonic, Fever-Tree. Pick up a couple of 4-packs from your local Coles or Woolworths or take a stroll through the mixers section of your bottlo and check out their gift packs at Dan Murphys.
Not stopping at tonic, they’ve also developed a line of ginger beers that smoothly goes with your favourite whiskey. You can head to their website to check which of their wide range is the best match for your spirit, and from there you can also check out the Gin & Tonic Christmas Crackers which will beat a dad joke and a paper crown any day. You can pick some up from David Jones
A company on the larger end, Fever-Tree have made a quiet home out of our Middlemiss laneway. Founded in the UK back in the early 2000s, Fever-Tree is the UK’s most valuable mixer company and it all started out with the sentiment – If three quarters of your gin and tonic is the tonic, make sure you use the best.
5. The Holey Bible by Paulina Larocca
There’s always someone in the family that’s a little more imaginative, innovative, and generously abstract than the rest of the bunch and gifting that soul can be tough but what’s more thoughtful than presenting them with a tool that will foster that creativity sitting inside them? ‘The Holey Bible,’ is Paulina’s third book, and it is for those interested in harnessing their creative thinking to bring about breakthroughs to help you become creatively enlightened.
Much like anything Paulina touches, this book is bright, provocative in all the fun ways, and deeply satisfying to read for those creative like-minds. A perfect gift for workmate too, the Hole-y Bible is a book that helps us to more easily spot the ‘holes’ in our thinking, hence the title, to help reframe your reality. Give a gift that brings out the potential in the receiver.
You can catch Paulina doing her thing throughout the warehouses but your best bet to find her would be in Bay Ten Espresso with a piccolo in hand sharing a deep conversation with someone as equally fascinating as she and petting a dog.
Further Afield – We’re not just telling you to consider our community of members to buy from but to support any small business you know.
Here are some local markets coming up in Kirribilli
- 13th December 8:30am – 3pm: Art, Design, & Fashion Market
- 19th December 8:30am – 3pm: General & Fashion Market
Find the eclectic tents stretched out from the tunnel next to Milsons Point station, spilling down onto the green towards the harbour. Take a couple of friends, grab a coffee and some food, and then let the present browsing begin.
Other ways to help your small business pals:
- Leave a google review or a review on their preferred website
- Share the news with friends and family to get the word out, whether it be by mouth or social media
- And just show up for them
